Scientists have shown that with a special menu they can ensure that people make more climate-friendly choices.

Deep down, of course, we all know that it is better for the climate to leave that delicious steak and opt for a salad or meat substitute instead. And yet many kilos of meat go through in restaurants every night. That has to be different. But that is not so easy, because most people do not want to be constantly occupied with the climate crisis during a pleasant evening out and when making their choice of dishes. So how can you get people to make a more climate-friendly choice? German scientists have found a solution and are introducing a menu that ensures that people also think about the climate during a night out and make better choices.

Colorful

The menu devised by the scientists states – just like traditional menus – the dishes to be ordered and their price. In addition, all dishes are provided with a color code (green, orange or red) that indicates how harmful they are to the climate. The color of a dish depends on the associated CO2 emissions. Red stands for high emissions, orange for medium emissions and green for low emissions. The emissions are also specified per dish; for each dish it is indicated how many kilos of CO2 were emitted to obtain this dish (and its ingredients).

Alternative becomes standard

In addition, the researchers also messed with the order of modular dishes. Modular dishes are dishes that you can put together yourself to a certain extent. For example, in restaurants you can increasingly opt for a hamburger sandwich with a ‘real’ hamburger or a meat substitute. It is actually always the case that the ‘real’ hamburger sandwich is the standard option and the meat substitute is presented as an alternative. The researchers turned that around; they put the more climate-friendly variants at the top and presented the less climate-friendly options as alternatives.

And that appears to work, just like the color codes and the specific mention of CO2 emissions, the researcher wrote in the magazine. PLOS Climate† They are based on experiments in which 265 subjects were presented with menus from Italian, Indian and Mexican restaurants and were asked to select a dish. Some of these menus were color coded and the CO2 emissions per dish were stated. On other menus, the more sustainable alternatives had become the standard. “The subjects in our study were more likely to choose the vegetarian burger when – as opposed to the meat burger, as is usually the case – it was the default option on the menu,” said researcher Benedikt Seger. And the color codes also worked; As a result, people were more likely to opt for a dish with longer CO2 emissions.

The difference

But does that really have an impact? Yes, say the researchers. For example, the color codes turned out to ensure that emissions per dish were reduced by 200 grams. And swapping the standard options for more sustainable alternatives resulted in a saving of 300 grams of CO2 per dish. “These are remarkable results when you consider that the subjects in the study by no means stopped eating meat and other CO2-intensive dishes because of the labels or changes in standard dishes,” Seger notes.

Existential threat on the menu

The research shows that even during everyday decisions, such as choosing dishes from a restaurant menu, you can ‘push’ people towards a more sustainable choice in a fairly simple way. “That is by no means self-evident,” says Seger. “Certainly not when you consider that in restaurants we enjoy food, the atmosphere and the company of others and therefore do not want to think about existential threats such as the climate crisis.”

Psychology

The fact that the approach works can also be explained from a psychological point of view. “If a restaurant has the vegetable patty instead of the meat patty as a default option on its menu, that suggests, ‘Guests of this restaurant usually order the vegetable patty’.” And that presumed knowledge of what others are doing in a similar situation, whether desired or accepted, can have a significant impact on human behavior. The color codes that reveal CO2 emissions also work in a similar way. Large parts of the population are already aware that it is important that we emit as little CO2 as possible. That has actually become the social norm. And when a restaurant mentions those emissions on the menu, people become aware that that social norm also applies when they eat out. The colors further reinforce that standard, the researchers write in their paper. “Dishes with a red label can be seen as dishes that are socially frowned upon.”

The researchers hope their study inspires restaurant owners. “Dare to put CO2 labels and other standard options on your menu,” Seger encourages the catering industry. “In this way you can contribute to the protection of our climate, without having to fundamentally change your offer.”